F1 News - Latest F1 News

Jenson Button says he will not allow himself to be distracted by the possibility of clinching the world championship at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, and will instead approach the race like any other.

Button heads into round 15 of the 17-race campaign with a 15-point lead over Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello, while Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel is also mathematically still in contention 25 points in arrears.

Although he can sew up the title on Sunday if he outscores Barrichello by five or more points, Button thinks it would be a mistake to let his focus slip from the immediate task in hand onto the various championship permutations.

“I don’t coming into this race thinking I’m going to seal the title here,” he said in Thursday’s press conference. There are so many possibilities this weekend. There are three people that can still challenge for the championship, I’m one of them, and the most important thing for me to do is to work as hard as I can on Friday and Saturday to get the car right for qualifying and the race. I shouldn’t be thinking about anything else.”

He added that he is heading into the weekend with plenty of confidence: “Coming here I’m in very good shape and I’m looking forward to it. Singapore was a very interesting race; we came back from a very tough Saturday and had a good Sunday, so I was happy.”

After a dominant first half of the season Button has been much less convincing since early summer, but his consistent points-gathering has prevented his rivals from making major inroads into his points lead. The Briton admits the pursuit of the championship has taken its toll, but feels he has now put his shaky period behind him.

“It has been a pretty hectic season,” he said. “Obviously there were a few races where the car wasn’t as good as we hoped, and then there were a couple of races where I didn’t really get the best out of the car. But the last two races have been good for me – I’ve been happy with my performance and very happy with the team’s performance. It sounds silly but it is a bit of a rollercoaster when you’re fighting for a championship. It’s been a long time since I’ve fought for a championship, so you do forget. [But I] have some great people around me who keep me grounded and focused. It’s obviously tough, but it’s also very exciting and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Suzuka is notorious for its changeable weather and, with rain forecast for Friday’s practice, Button says he would prefer it to stay dry to minimise the chances of a mishap.

“I would rather it was a dry weekend for sure, but it is what it is and I’ll make the best out of it,” he said. “As far as I know it should be wet tomorrow, and Saturday and Sunday are more likely to be dry.”